163: The hand cream sales ended with all remaining funds spent, and the profits were used to support charitable causes, sparking widespread enthusiasm.

In the early morning at the Xihong City Stray Animal Public Welfare Foundation office, sunlight streamed through the window onto a mountain of imported hand cream. Big Smart, wearing his newly bought blue overalls, was clumsily labeling the hand cream—the labels were printed with "Public Welfare Foundation Caregiver Exclusive." He applied them crookedly; some were on the tube body, and some fell directly to the ground, being swiped as toys by passing stray cats, nearly knocking over the nearby pet snack box.

"Big Smart! Can't you stick them on straighter? This hand cream is imported, costing a hundred yuan per tube. Seven hundred and twenty tubes is seven hundred and twenty thousand yuan. If you mess up the labels, we'll have to reprint them!" Aunt Zhang, the caregiver, stood with her hands on her hips, still holding a comb she had just used to groom a stray dog, stomping her feet in frustration.

Big Smart crouched on the ground to pick up the labels, his face flushing red. His fingertips caught a hint of the hand cream's fragrance, attracting a nearby Calico Cat to come over and rub against his hand. "I... I just wanted to finish labeling quickly so the ladies could start using them sooner. I wasn't paying attention..."

Xie Hui had just walked in with Xia Zhu, carrying a constant-temperature pet bed from the inner universe—he had specially dug it out yesterday after hearing that the cats at the shelter were afraid of the cold, just in time for the newly rescued stray cats. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but laugh. "It's fine. They can still be used even if they're crooked. If the labels fall off, just print more. Order a thousand spare labels at two yuan each; that’s another two thousand yuan. Also, get Big Smart a labeling machine for fifteen hundred yuan and let him use the machine so he won't be so flustered."

Xia Zhu helped set up the constant-temperature pet bed and picked up a tube of hand cream, sniffing the scent. "This hand cream is cherry blossom scented; it's quite nice. The ladies will definitely like it. We're spending the remaining seven hundred and twenty thousand on this, which exactly makes two billion. The bet is almost complete!"

"It's still early to call it complete; the profit money hasn't been spent yet." Xie Hui handed her a cup of warm soy milk, the sugar-free kind that Xia Zhu liked. "Yesterday, Xiao Zhang said the one hundred million in APP copyright fees had arrived, and five million in Shared Umbrella advertising fees had also come in. All this money will be invested into the public welfare foundation to build ten stray animal medical stations. The equipment cost for one medical station is one million, so ten will be ten million. Then we'll hire twenty touring veterinarians with a monthly salary of forty thousand to specifically work at the medical stations. That adds up to another nine million—all of these are reasonable expenses and can help even more stray animals."

Xia Zhu quickly recorded everything in the ledger, her pen tip barely keeping up. "Ten million for medical stations, nine million for touring veterinarians, three thousand five hundred for labels and the labeling machine, and seven hundred and twenty thousand for hand cream. This morning alone, we can spend nineteen million, seven hundred and twenty-three thousand, five hundred yuan! The total expenditure has just reached a Breakthrough of two billion!"

As they were speaking, the administrator of the public welfare foundation ran over, holding a funding application, and said excitedly, "CEO Xie! Fifty rescue stations in impoverished areas have applied for funding. As soon as our foundation disbursed the funds, they sent photos. The stray dogs finally have clean cages to live in, and they're even using the automatic feeders we sent!"

Xie Hui took the tablet and looked at the happy stray animals in the photos, feeling a sense of peace in his heart. "This money is well spent! Order another five thousand automatic feeders at a cost of eight hundred each; that's another four million. Distribute them to the applying rescue stations so more animals can benefit."

Xia Zhu leaned over to look at the photos and suddenly noticed a familiar figure in one of them—it was a former colleague from Wang Duoyu's company, who was now actually a volunteer at a rescue station in an impoverished area. She pointed at the photo and asked, "Isn't this Sister Li? Why did she go to a rescue station?"

"I heard that after Wang Duoyu fell, she resigned. She felt a guilty conscience for helping Wang Duoyu manage the accounts before and wanted to do something practical," the administrator said with a smile. "She also said she wanted to thank CEO Xie and Accountant Xia. If you hadn't exposed Wang Duoyu, she would still be helping him cook the books."

Xia Zhu felt a wave of emotion. She turned to Xie Hui and said, "Doing practical things is so meaningful, much better than managing accounts for someone like Wang Duoyu. In the future, I want to stay at the public welfare foundation and help manage the funding applications. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay." Xie Hui reached out and ruffled her hair, his fingertips accidentally brushing her earlobe. Xia Zhu's face instantly turned red, and she quickly lowered her head to look at the ledger. Nearby, Big Smart was still struggling with the labeling machine. The machine suddenly spat out a string of labels that wrapped around his wrist like a colorful bracelet, making everyone in the office laugh.

At noon, Xie Hui took Xia Zhu and the office staff to a nearby home-style restaurant for lunch, specifically asking the owner to make the sweet and sour pork ribs and stir-fried seasonal vegetables that Xia Zhu loved. Xia Zhu looked at the ribs in her bowl and whispered, "You still remember I like this? I only told you once."

"Of course I remember." Xie Hui placed a piece of rib in her bowl. "Whenever you want to eat it in the future, we can come anytime, or I can learn to cook it for you."

Xia Zhu's face grew even redder. As she bit into a rib, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up—she found herself becoming more and more dependent on Xie Hui. Whether it was spending money or doing charity, as long as he was by her side, she felt particularly at peace. Nearby, Big Smart was chatting with the administrator about the pet medical stations, saying he wanted to become a caregiver in the future to specifically look after stray animals, which earned him praise from everyone for his great progress.

In the afternoon, Wang Zongyao's assistant suddenly called, his voice filled with approval. "Mr. Xie, the Second Master has reviewed your expenditure report and the status of the public welfare foundation. He is very satisfied and said that you not only completed the challenge of 'spending 2 billion in one month' but also did so many practical things. He has decided to additionally reward you with 'Fund Access Authority' for this world. In the future, whenever you spend money in Xihong City, you can call upon unlimited funds at any time. Additionally, regarding Wang Duoyu, due to multiple violations and instigating others to cause destruction, the Second Master has revoked all his inheritance qualifications and ordered him to compensate you for your losses. He is currently in the detention center and doesn't even want to see a lawyer."

Xie Hui laughed and said, "Thank the Second Master for his recognition. There's no need for compensation, as long as he doesn't cause any more trouble in the future."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Zhu excitedly grabbed Xie Hui's hand. "That's great! We've completed the bet! And we've gained fund authority. It'll be even more convenient to do charity in the future!"

"More than just that will be convenient." Xie Hui pulled out the pet keychain he had given Xia Zhu earlier, which was engraved with the initials of their names. "No matter which world we go to in the future, I'll take you with me, and we'll do more meaningful things together."

Xia Zhu looked at the keychain, her eyes sparkling, and nodded vigorously. "Okay! I'll go with you!"

As the two were talking, Xiao Zhang suddenly ran over, holding a tablet, and said excitedly, "CEO Xie! Accountant Xia! Our Metaverse Dog Walking APP has become a hit abroad! A foreign company wants to cooperate with us and even wants to introduce the Shared Umbrella project! The cooperation fee is at least five hundred million!"

Xie Hui and Xia Zhu looked at each other and smiled—it turned out the "spend more, earn more" reversal came so quickly. The money spent before not only had a return now but could also feed back into public welfare. Xie Hui patted Xiao Zhang's shoulder and said, "Cooperation is fine. All the cooperation fees will be invested into the public welfare foundation to build fifty more medical stations, so that the welfare of stray animals covers the whole country!"

In the evening, the setting sun cast its glow over the courtyard of the public welfare foundation. The stray animals were napping in their constant-temperature beds, the caregiver ladies were using their new hand cream while grooming the animals, and the labels Big Smart had neatly applied with the machine shimmered in the sunset. Xie Hui held Xia Zhu's hand, looking at the heartwarming scene before him, his heart full of satisfaction—this bet in Xihong City had not only won him funds and authority but also the most precious companionship.

Xia Zhu leaned against Xie Hui and whispered, "In the future, when we go to other worlds, let's be like this too—spending money while doing practical things, okay?"

"Of course." Xie Hui looked down at her, his eyes full of tenderness. "No matter which world we go to, I'll make you happy and make every cent we spend meaningful."

Meanwhile, in the detention center, Wang Duoyu sat in a corner, staring blankly at the calendar on the wall. His lawyer had just told him that the compensation would be deducted from his previous savings, and even his favorite limited-edition sports car would be auctioned off. He finally understood that what he had lost was never money, but his conscience as a human being—every cent Xie Hui spent carried warmth, while the money he spent was only cold numbers and calculations.

The sun gradually set, and Xie Hui and Xia Zhu walked home side by side, their shadows stretching long. They knew that this adventure in Xihong City was only the beginning. There were more worlds waiting for them to explore and more meaningful things waiting for them to do in the future. And the act of "spending money" would become more and more wonderful because of each other's company.